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The newly-formed Ensemble Hexaton is led by Guillaume Rebinguet Sudre, who is a harpsichordist, violinist, harpsichord-maker, composer and teacher at the CRR de Bordeaux, and this recording offers a collection of violin and bass sonatas in which we set out to meet an unknown Vivaldi.
These sonatas, which are rarely performed in concert, shed light on another of Vivaldi’s faces, one that shows an enormous vocal quality as well as being both expressive and refined. This is truly elegant music which reflects eighteenth century Venetian society. Here Vivaldi skilfully combines both profane and church - "Da Camera" and "Da Chiesa" - styles. Their style is luminous and colourful but without aggressiveness, in a way rather reminiscent of paintings by Canaletto and Guardi.
The exploration of these works reveals typically Venetian influences, some of which came from the East whereas others originated in Germany. They have also long offered other famous artists, including Händel, Bach and Pisendel, a plentiful source of ideas, and actually there are some musical sections which were reused note-for-note in compositions by these renowned musicians.
When it comes to Vivaldi, it is primarily orchestral repertoire which is widely known and heard - his chamber repertoire, on the other hand, is rarely performed or recorded because it reveals a kind of musical writing which is different from that of the concertos. In his violin sonatas, Vivaldi shows us a style which is amazingly varied and creative, in often surprising and unconventional ways; at the end of the day, here he is more “Baroque”. Vivaldi’s music is rarely ornamented by today’s performers, perhaps because learning to speak the forgotten musical language of a bygone age and finding its subtlest accents is no easy task. However, a detailed study of Vivaldi’s compositions helps to give us an idea of his state of mind and allows us to imagine and recreate a free, natural, expressive kind of ornamentation.
For their first recording, the Ensemble Hexaton is made up of Etienne Mangot on cello, Simon Waddell on theorbo and Clément Geoffroy on harpsichord. On it, Guillaume Rebinguet Sudre gives us two of his compositions, for harpsichord and theorbo.
